Switzerland
by wolfstarstruck
Summary: "You know what one of the worst things about being a Black is?" Sirius asked, lying down on Remus's bed next to him. "They think they're too good to travel anywhere that isn't exactly like London."
1. Chapitre un

"You know what one of the worst things about being a Black is?" Sirius asked, lying down on Remus's bed next to him.

"Aside from oppressing everyone who isn't pureblooded?" Remus asked, still looking down at his book.

"They think they're too good to travel anywhere that isn't exactly like London."

"Since when have you liked to travel anywhere that isn't the girls' dormitory?" Remus asked with a small chuckle in his voice.

"Oi! I adore travel. And the girls' dormitory is a very exotic place," Sirius defended with a huff. "Not that you would know, of course. You'd probably make them come back here to disturb me and James's slumber, you prick."

"Oh, you know me too well." He sighed, putting down his book and looking at him. "What's brought about this sudden thirst for adventure in you, Sirius? Have another near-death experience?"

"James was just raving about his trip to Peru with his family last year, and it deeply upset me when I had to shove him in a broom closet because I couldn't counter with a hair-raising story of my own. I've never _been_ anywhere, Remus!"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Didn't James ask if you wanted to go with them? Like ten bloody times?"

"Yeah, but I'm not a rude git who imposes on his friends' family vacations. Unless it's you, because you don't go to boring places like Peru and Guatemala and other places I'm not even sure exist."

"Both Peru and Guatemala are fascinating places, Sirius, with rich culture and heritage—"

"—which no one cares about, precisely. But I want to go somewhere _exciting_. Somewhere I get shoved in a broom closet for telling about because no one can one-up me. Like…like…" Sirius paused a moment, wondering. "Like Switzerland. I want to go to Switzerland."

"…_Switzerland?_"

"Switzerland! You know, that place somewhere in the general region of Norway and that place with all the drugs." He paused again. "Actually, on second thought, maybe I want to go there…"

"Sirius Black, you are going nowhere near Amsterdam. Switzerland has wonderful chocolate, though. My aunt shipped me some in fourth year, remember? You threw it at me because it had strawberry filling."

"Switzerland should know better than to combine fruit and sweets. It's downright unhealthy."

Remus sighed. "Maybe your poor future wife will let you talk her into going there for your honeymoon. You'll undoubtedly come back weighing twice as much as you do now, conveniently forgetting your wife at the Floo station, upon which she'll find someone who isn't half made of chocolate, and you'll end up living on James's couch for all of eternity while I laugh and throw things at you, hoping that you won't eat them."

Sirius stuck his tongue out at him. "I don't know about you, Moonshine, but I have a little something called _self-restraint_ and I use it liberally. Or conservatively. Whichever means that I win this argument and you are wrong."

Remus was about to respond to Sirius's obvious lack of logic when the latter, apparently struck with a sudden revelation, proceeded to jump onto Remus, bouncing up and down with sudden excitement. "Remus! Let's go to Switzerland! It's almost Christmas holidays, right? Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

Remus, nearly suffocating under Sirius's thighs of steel, did his best to sit up and push him off. "Sirius, I'm going to explain this to you in as simple a manner as possible, since you clearly do not understand the concept of money: We are sixteen years old. We do not have jobs. I have holes in three-fourths of my clothes and growing; you are…well, you. We can't afford to just pack up and go to bloody Switzerland!"

Sirius just rolled his eyes, comfortably situating himself on Remus's lap. "As you seem to have conveniently forgotten, Sir Moonsworth, I was recently disowned from the Noble and Most Ancient Family of Black, and that came, surprisingly, with a reward – a reward of which I have actually managed to save a hefty sum of. There might be a erm motorbike or something of the sort that I was interested in, but I've always been a good haggler, and besides, my birthday's coming up, and what better way to celebrate my coming-of-age than with a trip to the mighty land of the Swiss?"

"…so, if we go, does that mean I don't have to buy you a Christmas _or_ birthday present?" Remus asked, surprising himself for even considering the possibility.

"A mere souvenir or ten will do."

A ghost of a smile flitted across Remus's face as he shoved Sirius off of him, taking up his book again. "Then to Switzerland we go."


	2. Chapitre deux

**A/N: Another short one, but it'll steadily get better. Still need to get used to this again. :3**

Sirius decided that Potions class the next day was the perfect opportunity to bring up their holiday trip again. "How cold do you think Switzerland is?" he asked, peering over Remus's shoulder as the boy carefully put a few drops of lethe river water into his cauldron, causing Remus to nearly jump out of skin and pour half the bottle in instead. "Should I bring the sweater Molly knitted me out of pity last year?"

"Sirius!" Remus did a quick reversal spell on his cauldron before any catastrophic damage was done, but it still looked like he'd have to go to Hogsmeade for more ingredients. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you? Why aren't you helping James? Your _partner_?"

Sirius shrugged nonchalantly, hopping onto the desk next to Remus's bubbling cauldron. "Our potion turned orange again, and it reminded him of the she-devil, so he ditched me for her. You seemed more interesting. Now answer my question. Sweater or no?"

Remus sighed, running his hand through his hair as he looked down at the instructions in his book. "Bring the sweater, Sirius. I'm sure it's even colder there than it is here. If you don't wear it, I will."

"Semus." Sirius grinned, dropping two mistletoe berries in for him. He picked another one up, examining it. "Nasty little bastard, mistletoe is."

"Reminiscing on the time it made you snog Snape?" Remus asked with a raise of his eyebrow, dropping a few porcupine quills in and stirring ten times, turning the potion lime green.

Sirius gave him a pointed look, dangling the mistletoe berry above the cauldron. "Did we not agree to never speak of that incident ever again for as long as we both shall live?"

He laughed, grabbing the berry from him and putting it back in its jar. "You never told me if he was a good kisser. From your reactions, though, neither of you were very good."

"For your information, Lupin, I am the best kisser this school has ever seen." He huffed, sliding back off the desk. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a potion to de-orangize."

Roughly two and a half minutes later, Sirius fished a soggy note out of their cauldron saying, "Add a few drops of salamander blood and it'll turn green," that looked suspiciously like it was written in a certain werewolf's handwriting.

"'Add a few drops of salamander blood and it'll turn green,'" Sirius mocked in a terrible interpretation of Remus's voice as the exited the classroom. "Git. Go be with your own kind." He nodded towards the group of Ravenclaws a few feet away, pushing Remus towards them.

Remus, much stronger than he looked, merely chuckled, pushing Sirius's hand away and walking towards the staircase. "Go find your sweater, Sirius. I still need to book our trip."

"Trip?" James asked with a look of surprise, snapping out of his stupor as Lily stalked away. "Are you planning an adventure without me? I thought we had something, Sirius! A real connection!"

"Yeah, well, Remmy here doesn't regularly forge my name on love notes and send them to poor, gullible Hufflepuffs." He huffed, slinging an arm around Remus's shoulders, causing the latter to look at the arm with furrowed eyebrows. "Oh yes. I heard about that. A line of 'Puffs waiting outside the showers is not very good form, Potter."

"Well you're always talking about how you're running out of Gryffindors to date! And Hufflepuffs are cute. Now stop avoiding the topic and tell me where it is that you're abandoning me to run off to. You aren't getting married, are you? How many times have I told you of my plans to crash both your weddings and set Peter loose on the cake? I can't do it if you're in another bloody country!"

"You're so paranoid, Prongsie." Sirius rolled his eyes, taking his arm back and starting down the hall, expecting the others to follow. "We've just planned a nice little get-together to Switzerland to protest you going off to countries I've never heard of every other day. So why don't you run off to Prague or another one of your made-up places and leave us be?"

"Switzerland? Why in the name of Merlin's crew-cut would you go to Switzerland?" James asked, quickly catching up with him. "Aren't they the country that never does anything?"

"They make chocolate," Remus piped in, falling into step next to Sirius. "I think you threw your piece at me when you realized it had strawberry filling, too…"

"Well why can't you pricks find it in your blackened hearts to take me? I like chocolate and neutrality!"

"Because my blackened heart can only find room in it enough for one, Prongsie, and today is not your day. Now if you'll excuse me, you annoying clingy leech of a man, Remmy and I have plans to make." Giving him a curt nod and a flash of a grin, he grabbed Remus's arm and tugged him upstairs. "Tell McGoogles we're terribly sorry for missing her class but we have to go save the world or something!"

Sirius had forgotten to do his homework again anyway.


	3. Chapitre trois

**A/N: To my one (fantastic) reviewer, this is set in their sixth year, so the end of 1976.**

It was the day before Christmas holidays, and while Remus and Peter were in the library, Sirius was 'helping' James pack to go home – more or less just flinging rubber bands at him and criticizing his taste in clothing. "Really, James, you still own that? How many times have I told you that magenta's just not your color?" He sighed, flinging another rubber band, nearly hitting his ear. "Where is it you're going again? To live with Tibetan monks or something?"

"I bloody wish. I'm being dragged to Greece again to visit my mum's cousin – her house always smells like soup, I can't stand it. Just imagine how much soup one has to eat for their entire house to smell like it. And she lives alone, too! What, does her entire diet consist of Campbell's?" He shuddered, shaking his head. "Think the monks'll take me on such short notice?"

"Ask Remus. I'm pretty sure he was born in a monastery." He shrugged, stretching out his foot to close James's trunk when he assumed he was done. "Don't forget to bring me back some soup! I've had a craving for chicken and dumpling lately."

Remus wrinkled his nose as he came into the dormitory with a pile of papers. "Chicken and dumpling is a strange combination. I prefer chicken's relationship with noodles much better."

"You've always had terrible taste in food, Moons." Sirius threw a pillow at him. "What've you got there? Adopted an Ethiopian as my Christmas present?"

Remus nodded, plopping down next to him on the bed and dropping the papers onto his lap. "I've named him Ricardo. I hope you don't mind."

"Ricardo? Damn. I was hoping for Uberto." He shrugged, picking up the papers and rifling through them with a grin. "So we're really going to Switzerland, then? Just the two of us? All on our lonesome?" James tried to interject, but Sirius kicked him into silence.

Remus chuckled, pointing to the date on the ticket he had given him. "We're stuck with each other from December twenty-first to January fourth. Two whole weeks. Think you can make it?"

"Two weeks? Merlin, that's like a bloody lifetime." Sirius raised his eyebrows, laying his head back on the pillows and letting out a long breath. "I suppose I could always pelt you with chocolate until you behaved to my liking."

He laughed. "And what exactly _is_ your liking, Sirius? I'm afraid people will mistake me for Father Christmas by the time I'm up to your standards."

Sirius grinned wickedly, immersing himself in the papers once more to keep from answering.

"Thank Merlin the full moon's not 'til the eighth," Remus murmured more quietly, "or else they wouldn't have let me go, I don't think."

Sirius frowned a bit, shaking his head. "Ridiculous. They can't do that. It's not like there's anything _wrong_ with you."

"Try telling them that." He heaved a sigh, flopping back and resting the back of his hand against his forehead. "It's like I have the plague or something. Switzerland's more lenient than other countries, but they're still terribly strict about things like this." He shrugged and gave a small smile, glancing over at him. "But hey, at least we're going, right? And we'll come back smelling like chocolate instead of soup. I consider that a success."

When Sirius glanced up, James was glaring at them, locking up his trunk. "Well, fine. If you two won't let me join you on your escapades, I'm sure I can convince Peter to take me home with him. His mum must be a good cook if he looks like that, right?"

Remus smiled, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and standing up, clapping James on the back. "You'd find Switzerland terribly boring, Prongs, I assure you. You're better off eating vast amounts of soup."

"Yeah, not a red-head in sight. It's a travesty! You'd suffer so much there. We're doing you a favor, really."

James gasped, an idea suddenly coming to mind. "Evans! Maybe she'll take me home with her! She hasn't insulted me all week, you know, that must mean she's falling in love with me…"

"Either that, or she's been sick in the hospital all week," Sirius muttered, sitting up. "But really, mate, I think we can all agree that we are terribly tired of you and your immature antics and need as long of a break as possible. Besides, Switzerland can only handle two Marauders at a time, and – nose goes!" Both Sirius and Remus put their pointer fingers on the ends of their noses before James even had time to blink. "Well, looks like you're out of luck, Prongsie. Don't forget my soup!"

James scowled, giving them both an inappropriate finger gesture. "Oh, I won't forget, don't you worry." Sirius distinctly thought he heard him muttering about where he was going to put that soup when he returned as he walked out of the dormitory, noisily closing the door behind him.

Sirius smirked in triumph, lying back down. "What's there to do in Switzerland besides gorge yourself and mock them for never doing anything?"

Remus pondered this, leaning back against the headboard. "Well, I heard they have very nice churches there…"

"Boooring. Next."

"There's always the Swiss National Park, where we can observe Prongs's relative, the ram."

"Sweet Merlin no. Staying far away from there. I can only imagine where Prongs learned to do that thing where he licks his hoof and puts it behind his antler…"

"Then I suppose you could always get mind-bogglingly drunk in a pub with their crazy foreign liquor and tell me all about your undoubtedly radical adventures while I sit in our room and prepare to heal you of alcohol poisoning."

"Well how would that be any different from basically every weekend at Hogwarts?"

"I hear their firewhiskey is twice as strong as ours is."

Sirius gasped, immediately sitting up. "We need to leave right this instant."


	4. Chapitre quatre

And leave was exactly what they did. If it had been up to Sirius, they would have been out of there at the crack of dawn, but Remus insisted on waiting until the other two woke up to say goodbye. After all, it would be two weeks until they saw each other again, and although Sirius insisted that he planned on forgetting James's existence these next two weeks, they all knew that if either of them could refrain from making a snowwizard of the other and obsessively talking to it, it would be a miracle.

"Hurry up and wake up, you prat!" Sirius finally declared at ten in the morning, jumping onto James's bed and whacking him with his own pillow. "I want to get out of here already, and you're going to miss your train. I am _not_ going to read all of your whiny letters complaining about how there's nothing to do here without me if you miss it."

"It doesn't leave until eleven!" James groaned, shoving him off and burying his face back in the pillow. "Leaf m'lone."

"See, Remus? There is no use getting through to him. We might as well leave before I suffer anymore heartbreak."

Remus shook his head, grabbing his wand and flicking it in James's direction. The blanket shot from the bed, as well as both pillows. "Potter. Get up and take a shower. Your mother won't appreciate you coming home smelling like that. Peter, you too." He flicked his wand again, the same thing happening to Peter's bed. "Preferably not at the same time, though. I'm all for water conservation, but the nightmares won't be worth it."

Unbelievably, they both obeyed him, James mumbling under his breath as he got up and marched off towards the bathroom. "Really? You listen to _him_, and not your best friend in the entire world?" Sirius asked as he passed by.

James mumbled again, reaching out and sloppily shoving him before going into the bathroom.

Half an hour later, everything was finally ready, and the four were making their way downstairs. They were all heading to Hogsmeade, but two were staying behind to get last-minute things while the others headed home on the train.

"All right, James, you prick, get over here." Sirius grinned, hugging his friend and clapping him on the back of his jacket. "Now you'd better not get into too much trouble without me. Tell your mum I'll see her over the summer, tell your dad that I'm giving that thing to that guy that I said I would, and…hm, what else? Oh! Don't forget my soup." He pushed him away, giving Peter a quick hug and some farewell words as well before waving as the two made their way towards the steaming engine. "Happy Christmas! No opening my gifts until the twenty-fifth! I'll know if you did!"

"What did you tell his dad you're giving to that guy?" Remus asked with a raise of an eyebrow as Sirius went back towards him, the two waving as the train started moving.

"Hm? No idea what you're talking about, Moony." He smiled innocently, tugging on his arm and pulling him out of the station and back into the little village. "Now what do we need here again?"

"Well, I need a few more quills, a new book, and a hat and gloves, since my old pair don't seem to be cutting it anymore. You, my friend, need to invest in a belt." He grinned, patting Sirius's arse, which was currently precariously lower than it should have been. "I'm tired of seeing that hanging out everywhere you go."

Sirius narrowed his eyes, a slight blush tingeing his cheeks as he shoved Remus's shoulder. "Oh, shove off, Lupin. You know you're just waiting for the day when these babies fail and you get a peak at what everyone's talking about." Satisfied with his comeback, Sirius made an abrupt left turn into the Quidditch shop, making a beeline for the Beater supplies. "Ugh, look at these. Just beautiful." He sighed, picking up a pair of gloves and holding them as if they were baby Jesus himself. "Why is everything I want but can't have so gorgeous?"

"Well, I suppose I do look pretty nice today, don't I?" He pretended to admire himself in a mirror before walking over to him, raising an eyebrow at the gloves. "Didn't you just get a new pair at the beginning of the year?"

"Yeah, but those ones have that pointy thing in the right glove and I can't find it to take it out. But look at these, Remus! These are clearly top of the line. And for that price, they'd better be." He let out a deflated sigh, putting them back down. "Maybe Santa'll get them for me. I've been a good boy."

"I think St. Nick would disagree. Now is there anything else you'd like to admire, or can we get on with our trip? The sooner we get there, the sooner you can introduce yourself to the firewhiskey."

Brightening up considerably at this prospect, Sirius hurried out of the shop and into the street. "How about you go to your precious bookstore and pick out whatever it is you want, and I go get your quills? You get the same ones every time. Shouldn't be too difficult." Without waiting for Remus's reply, Sirius darted into the shop, the door jingling behind him.

After getting an absolutely fascinating book on the prospects of theoretical physics, four new quills, a hat and a pair of gloves (no belt), the two made their way towards The Three Broomsticks, where Remus had set it up with the barmaid that they'd use the fireplace to go to Diagon Alley, where they'd take a different fireplace to the Floor Stop before embarking upon their journey to Switzerland.

The Floo Stop was almost like the Ministry of Magic, with a vast array of fireplaces and people bustling around everywhere, trying to get to the right fireplace before too late. Remus and Sirius were at fireplace 8F, which was about six away from the end – or, in Sirius's opinion, a death walk away. "Oh, it's not that far," Remus chided, starting the long walk. "Now you're sure you have everything, right? You packed rather lightly…"

Sirius shrugged, looking at his lone suitcase. "Well, I used a shrinking spell, and what could I possibly need anyway? I didn't even bring my Dungbombs, as heartbreaking as that is."

"Oh, however will you live?"

"You're going to have a lot of entertaining to do, Lupin."

"Don't worry. I brought a tennis ball." He smiled, standing in line behind an older couple about to embark upon their own trip.

"Black. Lupin," the man next to the fireplace said gruffly. They shuffled forward, handing him their papers. He glanced at them, giving Remus a weary look, but thankfully handed them back and gave them some powder. Remus said the name of their hotel, threw the powder down, and before they knew it they were spinning away from the Floo Stop and into a wonderful land of chocolate and neutrality.

"Ooooh. Look at it all. It's all so bright and shiny." Sirius squinted in the bright sunlight reflected off of the snow. The snowfall at Hogwarts hadn't been as magnificent as in years past, but Switzerland was a completely different story. Snow covered every available surface, from rooftops to cars to road signs. "This must be hell for albinos."

"And Kingsley. He'd never be able to play hide-and-seek here." Remus shook his head, turning around and heading back into the hotel. They got their key, and were discussing what to do once they had unpacked everything as they made their way upstairs. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm starved. I didn't eat much more than toast this morning, and Floo travelling always does weird things to me… Sirius?" He raised an eyebrow when his friend didn't answer, putting his bag down and turning around. "Did you hear me?"

"Didn't you get a two-bed place, Remus?"

"Well, yes, of course. Why do you –" He frowned when he noticed the predicament, walking over to him and looking around. "I specifically ordered a two-bed room, and they said they gave me one… Well, no worry. I'll just go down and fix it." He smiled, turning back around and heading for the door. "In the meantime, look at that view. It's magnificent."

Downstairs, Remus spent twenty minutes talking to the woman behind the desk in what small bits of her native language he knew, trying to work out an arrangement. Apparently, there had been a small mix-up with the rooms, but they were completely booked due to the upcoming holiday and that was the only room they had available. They had an opening on the twenty-eighth, but that was an entire week away. What were they supposed to do, share a bed?

"_Tack, tack,_" he said at last, forcing a smile and going back up to Sirius. "Well, we have a problem. They're booked until next week." He sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I'll take the chair, if you want. I don't much mind. It looks comfortable enough."

Sirius furrowed his eyebrows, scratching his chin. "Why don't we just share?"

"Share? The bed?"

"Yeah. What's the big deal?" He shrugged, crawling up to the head of the bed and undoing his shoes. "I don't mind."

"You don't?"

He shrugged again, tossing a shoe off the bed. "Not if you don't."

"Oh." He blinked, rather surprised, his curious expression turning into a smile. "Well, thank you. That chair didn't look all that comfortable anyway."

"Don't mention it. Now what sorts of Swiss delicacies are you planning on exposing me to this evening?"

He chuckled, looking at his watch before shrugging. "I heard there's this meat pie, _pastetlie_, that's rather good. I'm sure you'd like it."

"…meat pie?" He raised an eyebrow, pausing in the tedious removal of his other shoe. "Go on."

"There's a shop right down the road."

"Say no more, Moon-Pie. Ha!" He grinned at his own terrible joke, quickly removing his shoe and digging around in his suitcase until he found his leather boots, pulling them on. Whenever Sirius pulled out these particular shoes, Remus usually didn't remember his name by the time he took them off again.

It was bound to be an interesting night, to say the least.


	5. Chapitre cinq

The restaurant – or _'restaurang,_' as the locals insisted upon calling it – was a small little place, hardly bigger than the common room. They took a table in the back, observing the few people occupying the place as they attempted to decipher the menu. Finally, Remus found a picture of what he assumed was the _pastetlie_, pointing to it and smiling hopefully when it came time to order. He had attempted to learn Romansh, the strange language that only seemed to exist in the part of Switzerland they were in, in order to go on this trip, but there was only so much one could retain in a few days.

"Didn't one of your great many tutors teach you any of this?" he asked as he put the menu back in the holder in the middle of the table, sipping his water. "They taught you every other bloody language out there."

Sirius shook his head, tipping his chair back and looking around. "I can tell you how to say 'meat pie' in Russian, German, Spanish, French, and Italian, but sadly, my parents were cheap and skipped out on the only important language. Right shame, it is."

"Well, I just hope I ordered the right thing. Everything on there is so…foreign." He shook his head, running his finger up and down the perspiring glass, licking off the condensation. "Feel free to be the first to test it."

Sirius smiled, his eye on a couple of girls across the room giggling at the bloke next to them. "Thank Merlin love only speaks one language."

"And here we go again." He sighed, pushing the glass away. "Starting already, Sirius?"

"No idea what you're talking about," he murmured absently, tipping his chair back a bit more to get a better look. Remus couldn't tell who he was looking at more – the girls or the bloke.

"You're going to fall and break your neck."

"Am not."

"Are too. Sirius, stop it. It's terribly impolite to stare, and clearly, they're all already engaged."

"What? Really? I see no rings!"

"I mean in conversation. They wouldn't be interested." He shook his head, popping an ice cube into his mouth. "Aren't I nice enough to stare at anyway?"

"Of _course_ you are, Moonsworth." He smiled politely, tipping his chair back onto all fours and wrapping his hands around his glass. "Fantastic weather we're having, don't you think? Not a cloud in the sky."

"Oh, yes, perfect. If it wasn't below freezing out there, I'd undoubtedly be skinny-dipping in the river behind the hotel."

"…you know, I'm not sure it would be completely unwise to do that anyway." He grinned cheekily, popping his own piece of ice into his mouth. "Just a suggestion."

"I'll consider it." He chuckled, glancing up as he noticed their dish coming towards them. "Ah, wonderful. It looks –" He paused when it was placed on the table in front of them, furrowing his eyebrows. Instead of being in the shape of a circle, like it had been in the picture, it was shaped like a heart. He looked up, about to comment to the waiter on it, but he was already making his way back to the kitchen, a clearly well-meaning grin on his face.

Sirius was two bites into it before he noticed. "Oi! It's a heart! Do they think we're on a date or something?" he asked around his mouthful, jabbing the outside of the heart. "Merlin, this place is determined to make sure we shag or something." He shrugged, digging back in, apparently indifferent to this prospect. "Still tastes ruddy good, though. No complaints from me."

Remus sighed softly, shrugging as well and picking up his fork, taking a small bite. It was definitely better than the picture made it look. _Maybe the shape does something to it._

"I can only imagine what other sorts of suggestive things this country's going to force upon us," Sirius said as he wrapped his scarf around his neck, the door banging shut behind them. It was now nearing nine o'clock local time, and the nightlife seemed to be starting to pick up. Sirius's plan was to go bar hopping until he passed out – which Remus wasn't quite as keen about – and seemed determined to do that, looking around for the two girls and one bloke he had been staring at earlier. They had left only a few minutes before them, so they couldn't have gone very far. Sirius was quite sure that wherever they were going was where he wanted to be.

"I bet I could convince all three of them to go to bed with me if I tried," he added, stuffing his hands into his pockets and starting down the street.

"At the same time?"

"Hm. Maybe. It'd be easier than a threesome, I think." He grinned, nudging Remus with his elbow. "Or maybe I'll give one to you. The brunette looked like your type."

Remus chuckled, putting on his new gloves. "That's very kind of you, Padfoot, but I'll pass. I'm not trying to have as many illegitimate children with as many different woman as possible."

"Just trying to spread the wealth, Lupin." He stood on tip toe to look around a group coming out of a shop. "Oi, that place looks nice. There's all sorts of young people waiting in line. Let's go!" Before Remus could respond, he took off, weaving around the group and disappearing into the darkness.

"Sirius! You can't just leave me here!" He sighed, taking off in his direction, muttering "Excuse me" and "Sorry" as he passed through the group. He grabbed his arm once he caught up with the boy, giving him a stern look. "Now no abandoning me like you do in Hogsmeade, okay? I could fall in the river and die or something. Think of that while you're shagging the three of them."

"Oh, Remus, you worry too much." He shook his head, slinging an arm around his shoulders and standing on tip toe again to see further up the line. I'd say…ten minutes, tops? I mean, there's no doubt we're getting in. Two young chaps as handsome as us should have no trouble. They'd be honored to have us." He nodded assuredly, fixing his collar and making himself as tall as possible.

"But, Sirius…we're sixteen. And I don't think Rosmerta's in there for you to charm. How do you think we're going to get in?"

"I told you to stop worrying so much. I have it all covered. Just pretend it's the library."

"But it's clearly _not_ the library! I seriously doubt Madam Pince is going to be in there, telling everyone to be quiet."

"You know, honestly, I wouldn't doubt it." He adjusted his shirt as they stepped forward in the line, and before they knew it they were two from the front. "And now to put this plan into action." Sirius pulled out a miniaturized Dungbomb he had found in his pocket, casually tossing it to the side. It was small, but still powerful enough to confuse anyone who suddenly saw a plume of smoke erupting from the sidewalk. When the man at the door stepped away to look at it, Sirius grabbed Remus's wrist and tugged him in, making sure to go unnoticed. "See? Easiest thing in the world."

Remus couldn't help but look over his shoulder as he was dragged into the building, wondering if a swarm of security guards was going to run up and arrest them. When that didn't happen, he allowed himself to relax, looking around the crowded club. "Loosen up, Remmy." Sirius grinned, appearing in from of him again. "Come dance with me." Before Remus could object, he was being dragged into the heart of the sweaty masses of bodies, all dancing to a song he had never heard before.

Remus squirmed, trying not to touch anyone, which was turning out to be impossible. Surprisingly, though, Sirius seemed to be only looking at him. This made him smile a bit, doing his best to 'loosen up,' as he had been told. He didn't dance quite as provocatively as Sirius did, but they still managed to bump into each other more times than he could count. Oddly enough, Remus Lupin seemed to be enjoying himself in the last place he would ever expect to.


	6. Chapitre six

**A/N:** I am TERRIBLY sorry for taking so long to update. Things got hectic. And, to whoever chastised me for insinuating that the Swiss speak Swedish a few chapters back, I apologize. It was merely a typo. Got my S's mixed up. I didn't mean any harm.

In no time at all, Remus Lupin was reduced to a sweaty mass of clothes and teenage boy. With the large number of people in close proximity, he was surprised it hadn't happened sooner. Sirius, though, seemed no worse for wear. He gave him a questioning look, gesturing to him.

Sirius gave a lopsided grin. "Years of practice," he responded, grabbing Remus's wrist and tugging him back over for another song.

An hour later, Remus managed to pull away from Sirius's grip with the excuse if having to use the loo. Honestly, he was just exhausted. Unlike Sirius, he neither played Quidditch nor did immoral and sinful things late in the night, and was therefore not accustomed to Swiss nightlife.

Ignoring the bartender's look when he ordered non-alcoholic fruit juice, he drank half of it in a single gulp, wiping his mouth and looking around at the exotic crowd. There were people with piercings in every imaginable place with tattoos to match, people a bit too large to be socially accepted in such an establishment, both men and women who looked too young to be socially accepted in such an establishment, and he swore he even caught a glance of a pregnant woman dancing with one of the tattooed hooligans. What was the world coming to?

"Switzerland has even less morals than England," he muttered with a shake of his head, hoping he didn't say that loud enough for anyone to hear. He didn't think the Swiss were a particularly violent people, but he didn't want to take any chances.

Sirius, though, seemed to accept all of this with open arms, perfectly at home in such a dank and dirty environment. _Of course,_ Remus thought with a weary sigh. The two had always been complete and utter opposites. Honestly, Remus was more like a Black in some respects than Sirius was.

He had rather wanted to leave since the moment he entered the place, but he wasn't going to admit that to Sirius. In all honesty, he went on this trip partly to prove to Sirius that he was not, indeed, the blank and boring future professor-or-librarian that everyone thought he was. He was a Marauder, and he could have fun, too. He could be wild.

And that was exactly why he grabbed the hand of the nearest person and dragged them onto the dance floor. It was only a coincidence that this person happened to be a bloke and have a rather striking resemblance to Sirius Black. "Oh, bloody hell," he muttered under his breath, fighting not to just stop in his tracks, barge out the door, and walk back to Hogwarts.

Thankfully, this boy seemed to be at least a few years older than him and had a much rounder face than Sirius. He also wore a brightly-colored shirt and shoes that did not match the rest of his wardrobe, which Sirius Black would never even think to do. This boy gave him a strange look but went along, quirking a brow with a grin. Very Sirius-like, in Remus's opinion. He wondered if he should introduce them.

"I'm Remus," he shouted, at the exact moment there was a lull in the music, so it seemed like the entire club could hear him.

"Evan," the boy said with a laugh as the music blasted again. "And I get the distinct feeling you're either showing off for or avoiding someone."

"Yeah, something like that," Remus muttered, and it took all of his willpower not to look over at the last spot Sirius had been. "This is great music," he lied, doing his best to mimic the moves Sirius had been using with him earlier. He was sure he looked like he was having a seizure.

Evan, though, didn't seem to notice. He kept his eyes on Remus, looking him up and down, apparently sizing him up. Remus blushed, refusing to look him in the eye, instead looking to the side and pretending to immerse himself in the dance. "So, um, Evan, huh?" he asked after a few moments, no longer able to stand his eyes all over him. "Do you live around here?"

Evan had that grin on his face again as he shook his head. "Nope. I'm from Germany, actually. Hamburg."

"Oh, how interesting. Hamburg. That's where they make hamburgers, right?" he asked lamely, chancing a look up with a nervous smile.

Evan just chuckled and shook his head, not answering. "So, Ryan, what do you say we get out of here? I'm staying just around the corner."

_Ryan?_ "Remus," he corrected with a frown. "And, um, I really shouldn't. I'm here with my friend, and he, uh, he wouldn't know how to get back without me. Can't have him sleeping in the streets, you know. Poor bloke, could never fend for himself out there."

"Friend, eh?" He cast a glance around as if looking for him, even though Remus hadn't specified where he was. "Are you sure?"

Remus nodded. "Definitely. I'm very flattered, though." He smiled.

This man didn't seem to want to give up that easily. "Really, though, I'm sure your friend's a big boy. Besides, this is the nice part of town. You can come back for him." He took a step closer, his fingers running down Remus's arm and grabbing at his hand.

Remus gasped in surprise, quickly jerking his arm away.

Clearly, this was the wrong move. The man's previously charming eyes narrowed, and he quickly seemed to become three sizes bigger than he was. "Listen here, Regis, I didn't come here by myself and I don't plan on leaving that way either. Do you hear what I'm saying?"

Normally, Remus did everything he could to avoid conflict, but the mixture of travelling in this new country and dancing so boldly with Sirius were sparking new things in him, and suddenly, he didn't want to put up with this bloke. He stood as tall as he could – which was still at least four inches shorter than Evan – crossing his arms over his chest. "My name is _Remus_. Remus. Really, it's not that difficult. And I didn't come here alone, either – " As he looked up, he noticed Sirius walking towards him, a slightly worried look on his face. He always had such impeccable timing. Remus reached out, grabbing his hand and pulling him over. " – and I'm definitely not leaving alone. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a much more attractive idiot to dance with."

Before Sirius could size up the bloke and possibly start a fight – and before Evan could appropriately respond – Remus pulled Sirius through the throng, stopping when he felt they were a safe distance. " – idiot to dance with?" Sirius was saying, catching up with Remus with a huff. "What was that about, anyway? Was he trying to hit on you?"

"I suppose you could say that," Remus muttered, wrinkling his nose. "He smelled like an ashtray that's been set on fire and laid out for a week. I don't know how anyone could want that."

Sirius chuckled, stepping closer and glancing him over. "Well, you're all right, right? I don't have to go over there and tell him what I think of the situation? Although I might just do that anyway; it's been a while since I've been in a good fight…"

"No, Siri, stop. It's fine." Remus shook his head, putting a hand over Sirius's balled-up fist. "Really, it's fine. I'm fine. Let's just dance, yeah? That's what you dragged me out here for, after all." He grinned, letting go of his fist and turning around, wiggling through the crowd, which barely let him through. After that near-conflict, he could already feel his night changing. The last thing he wanted to do was go back now.

"Remus!" Sirius called with a laugh, pushing through after him. "Stop! I'll lose you! You're too short!"

"I'm the only one without tattoos or obscene naval piercings!" he called back, continuing to make his way through the crowd until he arrived at the man who seemed to be in charge of the music. He climbed up the step so he was even with him, murmuring something into his ear before hopping back down and joining Sirius. "See? I'm easy to find."

"What was that about, eh? Requesting Beethoven or Picasso or something?"

"Not quite." He laughed, looking up as the song ended before looking back at Sirius's face, wanting to see his reaction when the next song came on.

_Blackbird singing in the dead of niiiight…_

Sirius grinned. "Blackbird, eh? Not a bad choice."

"I knew you liked it. And it's not terribly slow, I suppose, so we shouldn't have too many riots on our hands." He shrugged, glancing around the crowd, trying to gauge their reaction.

Before he could get very far, though, Sirius stepped towards him, wrapping his arms around his neck. "Oi. Teach me how to dance."

Remus blinked in surprise, looking back to him. "Teach you…how to dance? Right here? In the middle of a club in Switzerland?"

Sirius nodded. "In the middle of a club in Switzerland." He unwound his arms for a moment, taking Remus's hands and putting them on his hips before placing his arms back. "Sadly, that is where my knowledge of dance etiquette and application ends. Now get to teaching, Lupin – this is probably the only time you'll get to be the bloke."

Remus smiled at this comment, putting his hands more firmly on his hips and taking two steps back before taking one forward; one to the right, and two to the left. "It's really not that hard," he said after the first few times (and the fourth time Sirius had tripped over his foot). "You just have to concentrate. Two, one, one, two…" He did the routine again and again until Sirius finally got it. The joy was quite evident on the boy's face, and Remus couldn't help but grin, sharing in the boy's enjoyment. "See? I told you it wasn't hard. Even you can do it."

"Again," Sirius demanded, and they went around like that, slowly making their way back through the crowd, neither releasing his grip on the other for even a moment.

Finally, when Remus felt like his feet were going to fall off, he let out a pant, taking his hands from Sirius's hips and grabbing his hand instead, pulling him towards the bar to take a seat. "You certainly seem to have a thing for my hands tonight," Sirius commented as he sat next to him, waving away the bartender who asked if they wanted a drink. That was certainly a first.

"They are immaculately sculpted," Remus replied half-sarcastically. It was true – Sirius had beautiful hands. Anyone who denied it was a fool.

"Ah, Rem. I'm so proud of you. You didn't run away screaming once tonight. I'll have to write and tell Prongsie all about it."

Remus gave a small smile, rolling his eyes. "Please don't. He'll send Peter with a basket full of nodders or something."

"Mm, true. James'll just have to live without this little tidbit of our lives." He chuckled, pulling Remus up and slinging an arm around his shoulders, walking towards the door. "Let's get out of here. I'm starved."


End file.
